Chapter 295: At Age Nine, Aiming to Be the Fifth Mizukage

I Teach at the Ninja Academy, and I Get Stronger Just by Teaching: Volume 213, Chapter 9: The Goal Is to Become the Fifth Mizukage. "So, Village Teacher, all we have to do for this mission is perform well in the Chunin Exams in Konoha, right?" Mei Terumi looked at Konoha, which was not far away, and confirmed the mission details with her instructor.

"Mm-hmm. Just show your true strength as usual." Shuzuki Yamamura nodded in reply.

Before Konoha's invitation arrived, Kirigakure never expected that Konoha would suddenly invite them to participate in the Chunin Exams. Since the Land of Water was an island nation, Kirigakure rarely took part in events involving the other four great ninja villages on the mainland.

However, since the invitation came, Kirigakure certainly wouldn't back down. They saw it as a great opportunity: to make Kirigakure's name known on the mainland and to gauge Konoha's strength.

Although Kirigakure seldom participated in the Great Ninja Wars, it wasn't completely indifferent. They did send ninjas to gather intelligence and knew that the four great ninja villages on the mainland were locked in conflict.

But that had nothing to do with Shuzuki Yamamura and his team. The mission they received was simply to defeat Konoha ninjas in the Chunin Exams and earn a good ranking.

Shuzuki Yamamura was very confident in his team because it included a ninja prodigy named Mei Terumi. At only nine years old, she had already mastered two Kekkei Genkai and was quite skilled in Water Release.

"By the way, I remember that Shark Face is a chunin. Why is he taking the Chunin Exams too?" Mei Terumi glanced at Kisame Hoshigaki and asked in a low voice.

Kisame Hoshigaki looked so distinctive that Mei Terumi remembered him after just one glance. She recalled that Kisame Hoshigaki had become a chunin the previous year by passing Kirigakure's internal Chunin Exam.

"He was demoted for failing a mission, I guess. Don't dwell on it. Regardless of who your opponent is during the exam, fight with all your might. The better your results, the better the village's rewards." Shuzuki Yamamura gave a brief explanation and then admonished her.

The law of the jungle was Kirigakure's rule. Naturally, Shuzuki Yamamura hoped his student would go further and earn more rewards.

Mei Terumi nodded and stopped asking about Kisame Hoshigaki. Growing up in Kirigakure's oppressive and cruel environment, she knew not to pry into things she didn't need to know.

She just secretly regarded this fellow villager, who was participating in the Chunin Exams as a chunin, as a major rival for first place.

As they drew closer, Mei Terumi finally saw Konoha's great wooden gates.

Kirigakure had many tall buildings, so Mei Terumi wasn't particularly impressed. She only felt her heart surge because she intended to defeat all the Konoha genin participating in the Chunin Exams here, taking a solid step toward her dream.

"If I can get first place here, I'll gain recognition in the village. Even Lord Elder Genji and the Fourth Mizukage will regard me highly." Mei Terumi thought to herself.

If a nine-year-old genin like her could stand at the end of a Chunin Exam jointly held by two of the five great ninja villages, she would surely be hailed as a genius among geniuses.

Though it was just an exam, Mei Terumi saw it as a major step toward becoming Mizukage.

Mei Terumi loved Kirigakure because it was her hometown. She loved the morning scenery in Kirigakure—everywhere white mist, making everything look beautiful. Mei Terumi hated Kirigakure because the atmosphere was so oppressive it could suffocate a person, even forcing students to kill each other.

Mei Terumi didn't want to hate her hometown. So that she could only love Kirigakure in the future, she wanted to become Mizukage. She would change the Fourth Mizukage's repressive policies and make Kirigakure peaceful.

When she saw what seemed to be Konoha ninjas welcoming them at the gate, Mei Terumi carefully observed each one, trying to identify the opponents she might face in the Chunin Exams.

When Mei Terumi saw Getsuki, Getsuki happened to be using Appraisal Jutsu on her. Their eyes met.

Though facing an adult ninja much older than herself, Mei Terumi stared back without fear and even tried to widen her eyes to boost her presence.

However, Getsuki had no intention of competing with Mei Terumi in a staring contest. He smiled faintly and began appraising the next person.

It was late June, and spring had given way to the hot summer.

Under the blazing summer sun, Getsuki's dazzling golden hair shone even brighter, and his perpetually gentle smile seemed to carry actual warmth.

"What's with this guy? Why does he smile so warmly?" Mei Terumi, who had just felt smug about winning the staring contest, couldn't help muttering when she saw Getsuki's smile.

Yes, she felt that his smile was actually warming her up.

Mei Terumi rarely saw people smile. When she first started school, they would play and laugh together. But after a year, that stopped because anyone other than herself could be an enemy. Under such circumstances, how could they still play and laugh together? A cruel sneer, maybe.

The high-level talks didn't waste too much time. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Kirigakure team followed the Konoha welcoming party into the village and headed toward a hotel in Konoha's main district.

Mei Terumi didn't know much about Konoha—only that it was a ninja village on par with Kirigakure, and its leader was called the Hokage.

This was her first time in the Land of Fire. She had left the Land of Water before on missions, but not to mainland countries—only to nearby islands.

"Hmph, our Kirigakure buildings are still taller." Mei Terumi thought smugly as she looked at the mostly two-story houses.

Kirigakure had many tall stone buildings that looked impressive.

Kirigakure wins!

After arriving at the designated hotel and putting down her things, Mei Terumi asked Shuzuki Yamamura if she could move freely. Since she hadn't found any potential opponents among Konoha's welcoming party, she intended to go out and gather information.

"There's no problem with moving freely, but be careful not to cause trouble. This is another village after all. It's best to move with your teammates." Shuzuki Yamamura replied.

Mei Terumi selectively ignored the second part of Shuzuki's words. The reason was simple: her two teammates were the kind of ninjas she didn't like, and aside from missions, she had no desire to team up with them.

Mei Terumi first moved around the surrounding area, memorizing the nearby streets to avoid getting lost.

When she arrived, she had only been focused on comparing building sizes. But as she carefully observed the streets and pedestrians in Konoha's main district, she realized that Konoha was more prosperous than Kirigakure.

"So many shops, it feels like every place is a store. What a nice smell — sweets!" Terumi Mei suddenly found herself standing in front of a dessert shop.

Staring at the signboard's dessert pictures and the sweet aroma wafting over, Terumi Mei instinctively wanted to walk in, but with strong willpower she stopped herself after only half a step.

"Terumi Mei, you're here to gather intelligence, not to buy desserts!" she said to herself.

Although sweets were delicious, far better than those smelly seafood dishes, becoming the Mizukage and reforming Kirigakure was obviously more important.

Forcing her attention away from the dessert shop and onto the people around her, Terumi Mei noticed how different Konoha was.

Not everyone was grinning widely, but she could feel a relaxed atmosphere — not heavy at all, completely unlike what you'd expect from a village at war with other ninja villages.

Terumi Mei had to admit that in terms of prosperity and village atmosphere, Konoha was more comfortable.

Kirigakure — a temporary loss!

"What kind of village is Konoha, really?" Terumi Mei decided to keep observing.

"Why are you just standing in front of the dessert shop? Do you need help?" Obito, who was about to ask Mu Yue for a way to solve his grades problem, noticed a red-haired girl standing motionless in front of the dessert shop and came over to inquire.

"Could it be you want to eat but forgot your money? I could lend you some."

Absorbed in thoughts about Konoha, Terumi Mei heard a stranger's voice and instinctively stepped back, gathering chakra, ready to spit out Lava Release at any moment. After hearing the words clearly, she realized she was still standing in front of the dessert shop.

"I'm not here to buy desserts," Terumi Mei insisted, making it clear she wasn't the kind of person who didn't know what was important.

"Then why were you standing here without moving?" Obito scratched his head, puzzled.

"Hey, you're not a ninja from our village."

Puzzled, Obito looked Terumi Mei over and noticed that the headband on her forehead wasn't Konoha's — it was a pattern he'd never seen before.

"Could you be a spy infiltrating the village?" Obito immediately jumped back, eyeing Terumi Mei warily, ready to enter the Total Concentration Breathing state and activate his Sharingan at any moment.

"What spy would infiltrate wearing their own village's headband?" Terumi Mei couldn't help but retort, since what Obito said was too absurd.

Although she was indeed trying to gather intelligence, it didn't exactly count as espionage.

"Maybe a spy is using exactly that kind of psychology to operate." Obito's eyes gleamed with wisdom, as if he had seen through everything.

Terumi Mei: "..."

"I mean, is there a possibility that I'm a Kirigakure ninja invited here for your village's Chunin Exam?" Terumi Mei stated her identity outright.

She felt that if she didn't make it clear soon, this Konoha ninja — who looked foolish and talked foolishly — would actually attack her as a spy.

Though she didn't think this Konoha ninja, who seemed about her age, could threaten her, she hadn't forgotten that this was Konoha. Having a conflict with a Konoha ninja outside the exam arena would be unwise.

"Huh? The Chunin Exam has participants from other ninja villages?" Obito asked, shocked.

Terumi Mei thought Konoha's ninja training must be much gentler than Kirigakure's — someone this foolish would usually die in the graduation exam back in the Mist.

"Then you'd be my opponent in the Chunin Exam!" Obito's expression turned excited. He'd never expected there to be ninja from other villages in the Chunin Exam. If he could defeat all the foreign ninja and take first place, wouldn't his image in Rin Nohara's eyes get even taller?

"You're participating in this Chunin Exam?" Terumi Mei looked Obito over a few times, not expecting to run into someone she could gather intelligence from so soon.

"Of course!" Obito gave himself a thumbs up. "Not only am I participating, but I'm going to become a Chunin directly!"

Looking at Obito's naïve demeanor, Terumi Mei was skeptical about his words. After all, becoming a Chunin at this age would make him a considerable genius.

Terumi Mei never set her sights on people her own age. The ones she compared herself to, her enemies, were all ninja older than her.

That was the confidence her dual Kekkei Genkai gave her — she was unbeatable among her peers!

"I'm Uchiha Obito. Since you don't have any trouble, see you around." Obito waved to Terumi Mei and turned to look for Mu Yue.

Although he boasted that he'd become a Chunin directly, as soon as Obito thought about the first round of the Chunin Exam being a written test, his heart started trembling.

"The almighty Mu Yue sage can definitely solve this problem." Obito put his hands together and began praying to the Mu Yue sage.

When it came to the Mu Yue sage, he always believed first and then believed more.

"What a strange ninja. Are all Konoha ninja like this?" Terumi Mei thought as she watched Obito.

"Since you don't have trouble, see you around" — would he actually go help a ninja from a different village whom he'd just met?

Since he didn't know if Mu Yue was at home, Obito headed straight to the Southern Border Forest. Even if Mu Yue wasn't there in person, his shadow clone was very likely to be there.

Obito's judgment was correct. After arriving, he looked around and saw Muyue instructing Shisui in Fire Release, though he didn't know if it was the original or a shadow clone.

"Teacher Muyue." Obito jogged up to Muyue and called out, then immediately clasped his hands together and bowed to Muyue.

"Please help me improve my theory scores!" Obito looked at Muyue with a devout expression and pleaded.

Smack!

Muyue's finger accurately landed on Obito's forehead.

"What's wrong? Don't you always say that theory stuff is completely unnecessary?" said Muyue's shadow clone with a chuckle.

He was a shadow clone split off this morning, and could easily guess the reason for Obito's request—it was nothing more than the Chunin Exam.

"I wish that were the case, but the theory test is still there," Obito wailed, clutching his head.

"I already told Rin that I'd definitely become a Chunin this time. If I fail because of theory, Kakashi will laugh his head off, and Rin will be really disappointed."

In front of others, he confidently said he could become a Chunin, full of high spirits; but in front of Muyue, begging to improve his theory, he was genuinely pathetic.

"Just come straight to my house tonight. There's something there that can solve your problem," said Muyue's shadow clone with a smile as he pulled Obito up.

This Chunin Exam was set by Muyue. He had long anticipated that Obito would end up like this, so after writing the questions, he prepared several practice tests with similar questions for Obito to do.

If Obito absorbed the knowledge smoothly, he could perfectly handle the exam on his own. Even if not, it would reduce the pressure on Kakashi and Rin Nohara to help him.

"Could it be a celestial artifact that lets you master lots of knowledge at once?" Obito looked at Muyue expectantly.

How he wished there was a bread with knowledge printed on it, so that by eating he could increase his knowledge. That way, Kakashi might not surpass him in knowledge—when it came to eating, Obito didn't think he was inferior to Kakashi.

Muyue's shadow clone smiled without speaking. He was thinking wishfully; if there was such a good thing, he would have used it to learn Medical Ninjutsu long ago.

"It's not going to be practice tests, is it?" Sweat began to drip from Obito's forehead. Even though the sun was blazing overhead, he was sweating cold sweat.

Because he recalled that terrible memory of doing problems so much that he forgot the time—even now, thinking back, Obito found it terrifying.

Muyue's shadow clone nodded with a gentle smile.

Staying up until two, I finally finished writing the second big chapter. It's a small repayment of yesterday's debt. I'll keep working hard tomorrow, but I probably won't stay up that late again.